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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  19. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. march — the month
  4. chair — a leader
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. file — a line of people
  8. rest — what's left
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a document
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bark — to shout
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. file — a tool
  16. bark — a dog's sound
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. calf — a young animal
  19. wound — an injury
  20. rest — a break
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. rest — what's left
  23. march — music
  24. stem — to come from

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com